Abe began his correspondence chess career with the 1987 Golden
Knights and progressed up the ranks, finishing fifth in 1995 and fifth again in
1996, becoming a CC Master in 1999, and winning the 2000 Golden Knights. And now he has annexed the title
again, becoming one of the nine men who have won the tournament twice over the
sixty years of Golden Knight play.

GAME OF THE MONTH
Abe Wilson's game is usually geared to a slower, methodical
takeover of his opponent's game. Here
he shifts gears into an attacking mode.CENTER COUNTER (B01)1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 c6
This escape hatch for the Queen is a usual part of the Center Counter
tabiya. If 5...e6 6. Bc4Nbd7 7. Bd2 Be7? 8. Nd5 Qa4 9. Bb5 wins6.Bc4 Bf5 7.Bd2 e6
Black can also play more meekly with 7...Qc7, but Center Counter
players are not typically meek players.8.Nd5 Qd8 9.Nxf6+ gxf6
Black can safely recapture 9...Qxf6 though the Queen is not
particularly well placed on f6. After 10. Qe2 Black has to avoid 10...Bxc2?!
11. d5! cxd5 12. Bb5+! Nc6 13. Nd4 with complications that favor White. Saner
is 9...Qxf6 10. Qe2 Nbd7 11. 000 Nb6 12. Bb3 as in Karpatchev-Kuehn, Oberliga
Baden 200110.Bb3
Now on 10. Qe2!? Black can safely take the c2 Pawn -- 10...Bxc2
11. 00 Be7 12. Bh6 Bg6 13. Rad1 Nd7 with about even play Nispeneau-Stefanova,
Krynica 199810...Qc7 11.Qe2 Nd7 12.a4
This is a critical situation
for the opening -- where is Black's King going to live?12...Bd6 13.a5 0-0-0
Black had two choices here -- kingside or queenside. After 13...c5 14. 000, Black can try
14...00, though White is better. Now
Wilson has a target.14.a6 b6 15.Nh4
This is a standard idea in this position and quite
effective. The Knight will
either exchange itself for the Bishop on g6 or reposition itself via g2, and
though it doesn't make it in this game, then either f4 or e3 depending on
Black's play. There is also
the possibility of playing f2-f4-f5. 15...Bg6 16.g3 Kb8 17.0-0 b5?
Black's idea is to drive his knight to d5, but there was a better route with
17...f5!? and Nf6-d5. Now
Black is punished for loosening his King's shield.18.c4!
Of course! With
Black's g6 Bishop and h8 Rook out of the picture, White can unleash a lot of
firepower against the Black King.18...bxc4 19.Bxc4 Nb6 20.Rfc1 Qe7
White can mop up after 20...Nxc4 21. Rxc4 Rc8 22. Rac1 Qb6
23. Qf3 Qxa6 24. Rxc6 Rxc6
25. Rxc6 Qa1+ 26. Kg2 Qxb2 27. Nxg6 hxg6 28. Qxf6 Rc8 29. Rxd6 Qxd2 30. Qxf7
Qd3 31. Qxe6+21.Ba5 Rc8
21...Bc7 isn't much better after 22. Bb3 Rxd4 23. Nxg6 hxg6 24.
Rxc6 Qd8 26. Rac1 when Black is all tied up.22.Bxb6 axb6 23.a7+ Ka8 24.Qf3 1-0
Black has no good defense to Bb5. After 24...e5 the ending is won by 25.
Nxg6 hxg6 26. Bd3! f5 27. dxe5 Bxe5 28. Rxc6 Rxc6 29. Qxc6+ Qb7 30. Qxb7+ Kxb7
31. Bd5 Rd8 32.Bd5+! DECEMBER RESULTSJohn CollinsKenneth Douglas 09C42 5-1Ron
Hall 10C30 4 ½-1 ½Robert Eisthen 09C44 5 ½-½Jeffrey Levin 10C31 6-0Jack
Sarhage 10C34 6-0Lee Kemfort 10C08 6-0

Dennis Kohler died November
19, 2011, at the age of 81. Dennis
was a prolific CC player, finishing over 500 games in USCF play by post, email,
or server. He jointly holds
the American record of playing the most games with one opponent, over 143 games with his long
time chess friend Hobart Newton.

PHILIDOR'S DEFENSE
(C41) LEARN CHESS BY MAIL! Lessons given by mail, telephone, ICC
- many different ways. I
specialize in players rated 800-2100 who would like to improve their
game. Contact me for
information. Alex Dunne,
324 West Lockhart St., Sayre, PA 18840 or[email protected]
Chess booklet for sale: 2004
Golden Knights Championship -- booklet of the 57thUSCF CC Championship -- $10.00
postage paid. 35 pages, 90+ gamesQuote:"Correspondence
chess is not a school for technique or an academy for virtuosity, it is a
discipline of deep thought, of research, of tenacity. There is no place for the easy and
convenient draw by agreement, but there is always the torment of the search for
the best". -- Napolitano

CONTRIBUTIONS WANTED!

The 2012 Absolute championship will be starting soon. The Absolute is our premiere
invitational tournament, the best of the best. I am looking for some angels to donate
to the prize fund to give these e-warriors a purse to fight for. Please send in your donations clearly
marked USCF Absolute prize fund to USCF, PO Box 3967, Crossville, TN 38557, or
to me, Alex Dunne, PO Box 367, Sayre, PA 18840.
Let's make the 2012 Absolute a big success!USCF SERVER

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and he is bringing a server
to the USCF. I have
received news from a higher power that the USCF will have a server, soon, Stay
tune to a USCF near you for further details on this special present.

What will it mean to USCF CC
players? For one thing all
the new email tournaments will now be available as server play. You will be able to view your
up-to-date crosstables on line, no more recording errors, and your CC
bookkeeping will be done for you.
The server will also be a boon to OTB players, but I believe it
will benefit the CC world just as much if not even more.LAST CALL FOR 2012 ABSOLUTE
If you are rated above 2200 and would like to try your skill
against the best of the best, it is not too late to make a bid to play in the
2012 Absolute. Once again
it is that time, time to form the USCF Absolute Championship. The thirteen top-rated applicants will
be selected to participate. This
is a computer-free tournament so it will hopefully be a contest of human vs.
human. Send in your bid
soon as the tournament will be formed shortly.

Working hard to push his b-Pawn to queen, Black suddenly shifts
ground to create a surprise mating net on the kingside.SICILIAN DEFENSE (B32)

Is this the end of the Belgrade Gambit (5. Nd5)? A major improvement for White is
needed.

FOUR KNIGHTS (C47)

After White sacrifices a queenside Pawn on move three, he spends
the next thirty moves scrambling to justify its loss. Through sheer will power he succeeds.

Masters sometime have to make something out of nothing. Patrick Stephens proves that sometimes
Class A players can do it, too.GIUOCO PIANO (C55)
Some sharp center tactics determine whose hyphen is the winner.

SEMI-SLAV DEFENSE (D45)

Black plays this game like he owns it - Suddenly the White King
finds itself on h5.FRENCH DEFENSE (C02)
Tacticians will enjoy this banquet.SICILIAN DEFENSE (B21)